I'll be 34 weeks this Saturday. I can't believe it. At times, it feels like I'm never gonna get to the end and then when I really look at how far along I am, I really can't believe how fast it's gone by already. I really do believe it's because I have a toddler in my life this time. Actually, yeah, the toddler in my life IS the reason why it's flown by! Hehe!

This will be my last time pregnant (my husband likes to joke with me about having one more, but I tell him, "Um, FIRST I need to pop this one out and 2nd, NO WAY! I'm done!" (And, this is coming from a mama, who, when she was a kid, wanted to have 4 kids!).

So, I thought I'd write out all the things I'm gonna miss and all the things I'm not gonna miss about my journey as a pregnant lady.

MISSES....

1. I'm gonna miss the experience of my belly growing. It truly is AMAZING what the body does during this time. I'm always left with a stir of emotions when I think about this. I thank my body SO much for not only doing it's thang for my baby but also for doing it's thang for me at the same time. Incredible!!

2. I'm gonna miss these ultrasound moments. I will admit, they can make me nervous because I just want everything to be OK, but at the same time, words can't even describe how amazing it is to see an actual teeny-tiny baby growing inside you. Even if you can't have babies, just being there, seeing an ultrasound like this, is truly incredible!

3. I'm gonna miss C asking to 'pet' her baby brother. Gonna miss her saying she has baby L in her belly, too. Gonna miss her saying, "Oh, baby L is kicking...sleeping...he's awake!" Gonna miss her talking about him while she plays.

4. I'm gonna miss my husband taking over the grocery shopping, laundry, making dinner and trying SO hard to figure out what to make me for dinner. He's been the best during this time (although he could still use some help with cleaning up C's toys with her at the end of the day and putting his dishes in the dishwasher...hehe!).

5. Gonna miss seeing those little movements in my belly (especially for the VERY first time!). Each time, with C and L, they always make me cry.

6. Gonna miss my great skin...ha! Who am I kidding. With C my skin was flawless. With L, I struggled with it for most of the time. It's better now, but it took me time to get there.

7. Gonna miss loving my big, baby belly. It's probably the only time I'm in love with my belly. Uh, yep...the only time! :)

8. Gonna miss the emotions that I get when I watch a movie that's about parenting or kids...those feel good movies that make me cry. When I watch things like this and I cry because of the beautiful message behind it, I find that it really connects me more to being a mama to my kids. Just as an example, when I watched Dolphin Tale, yeah, I cried throughout the entire thing. LOL!

You just never know how much love you can have for someone until you become a parent. It's moving and it can literally make your head spin with beautiful emotions - and honestly, this one isn't gonna go away after pregnancy.

Just yesterday, while watching C play with her daddy, I got full of happy emotion because all I could think about was the love I have for her and her Daddy. This emotion truly comes outta nowhere, too. :)

9. Gonna miss the sense of calm that comes over me while pregnant. I move slower and I truly do feel more calm. Guess it's those pregnancy hormones. Usually I'm moving so much faster, so I'll miss the slowness that pregnancy brings me.

10. Gonna miss the very first moment I meet my baby for the very first time. Here's C when I first held her and I'll never, ever forget this day. The feeling of seeing her and knowing we made it through 9 months together is the best feeling in the world. There's no high like it.

NOT GONNA MISS...

1. Trying to figure out what to eat each each and every day. It's amazing how this changes for me. Once I find something that has me saying, "this is SO good!!" I end up devouring it and eating it over and over again, until one day, I can't eat it anymore. Then I have to find something new. This pregnancy has been very different in the food department and I'm SO ready to have MY stomach back and can eat whatever I please.

Below, D made me a tomato, basil and mozzarella sandwich. The yumminess lasted a few weeks, now the thought of pesto makes me cringe. LOL!

2. Not gonna miss sleeping with a million pillows and still not being comfortable while sleeping.

3. Not gonna miss sitting on my couch while pregnant. It's the worst. It sucks me in and it's SO hard to get comfortable in and it's SO hard to get out of, even with pillows behind me helping me to sit up.

4. Not gonna miss the thermostat wars with my husband. He'll never understand what's it's like to be a pregnant woman who's hot and is surrounded by pillows for comfort at night. Nope...never!

5. Not gonna miss, saying, "Hey...wait up for me!" while walking together as a family. The nice thing is, this time, with C, I walk her pace, so that's made it better for all of us walking slower. But, the hubs, yeah, he still walks way ahead of us or me. LOL! And, again, he'll never understand what it's like to have pelvic pain or a baby bouncing on your bladder while you walk.

6. Not gonna miss getting up from the bed or couch and my lower ab muscles pull and stop me in my tracks.

7. Not gonna miss going to the bathroom every second. Especially when driving on the bouncy roads here...I've never had to go the bathroom so bad after driving to a store or to the gas station...baby bounces all over my bladder and there's nothing I can do about it.

8. Not gonna miss all the nerves I get when I go to my doctor appointments. As hard as I try to stay positive, those negative thoughts do creep in. There's SO much to think about when it comes to growing a baby in your belly. So I'll be glad when this is over, but then I have to move on to doctor appointments with both kids - so I guess this doesn't really end once I'm done, right? :)

9. Not gonna miss toddler meltdowns mixed with pregnancy hormones. I literally am crying right there with her as soon as they start. And, yeah, this won't go away after pregnancy either...except, I'll probably just cry a little bit after they start, instead of right when they do.

10. Not gonna miss running out of breath easily and being tired. I usually have so much energy to make it through my days with C. So this is an adjustment for me. I mean, sure, I get tired when not pregnant, but having this belly makes it 10x harder for me to play with C and do things for her. All I wanna do is sit on the couch and not move...something I can't do while being a mama to a two-year-old.

***UPDATE***How could I forget these....I'm NOT GONNA MISS bending down to pick something up, all the weight gain, maternity clothes (I can't wait to burn these!!! Hehe!), the first trimester ickiness (oh, these 3 months are the hardest for me!!), shaving once belly gets bigger (oh, this is SO HARD!!) and my daughter getting mad at me because I can't sit on the floor that long and play with her. :):)

So there you have it...my MISSES and NOT MISSES when it comes to pregnancy. OH, I know there's SO much more. But these are definitely my top choices.

Pregnancy is definitely a gift and it makes me cry thinking I've done this twice and C is going to have a little brother soon, but at the same time, I'm SO ready to be done and can't wait to have my body back and start living my life as a mama of two kiddos. Oh yeah!!

Have you gone through pregnancy? Experienced pregnancy through a close friend or family member? I'd love to hear your thoughts on misses and not misses about pregnancy...or, better yet, why not add to list! I'd love to hear! :)

Until next time...

{life IS colorful}